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Friday, February 12, 2016

This Date in Rock Music History: February 13

1961: Frank Sinatra started his own recording company, Reprise Records.

1961: The instrumental "Calcutta" by Lawrence Welk was the new #1 song, passing up "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by the Shirelles. The Miracles teamed up for the #3 song--"Shop Around", while Neil Sedaka was fourth with "Calendar Girl" and Ferrante & Teicher's big hit "Exodus" was on its way down.

1961: The Miracles remained at #1 on the R&B chart for the fifth consecutive week with "Shop Around".1962: Don and Phil Everly graduated from boot camp in the Marine Corps and Don married Venetia Stevenson.1965: Jr. Walker & the All-Stars debuted on the chart and on the radio with their first single--"Shotgun".1965: The Temptations remained at #1 on the R&B chart for a third week with "My Girl".Shirley Bassey with one of the top Bond theme songs ever.

1965: Beatles '65 by the Beatles was the #1 album for the sixth week. There were two new albums in the Top 10: The "Goldfinger" Soundtrack and You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by the Righteous Brothers.1965: Roger Miller vaulted to #1 on the Easy Listening chart with one of the Top 100 Songs of All-Time in Adult Music*--"King Of The Road".1965: Little Anthony & the Imperials had a big hit with "Hurt So Bad".

1965: The Righteous Brothers were #1 again with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". Former #1 "Downtown" from Petula Clark still hung on to #2 and "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys edged up. Shirley Ellis lost a spot with "The Name Game" and the great new Temptations song "My Girl" was up to #5.1966: The Beatles were nominated for ten Grammy Awards. The group was nominated for Album of the Year (Help!), Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Vocal Performance, Male, Best Contemporary Single, and Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist ("Yesterday"), Best Performance by a Vocal Group and Best Contemporary Performance by a Group, Vocal or Instrumental ("Help!), and Best Original Score, Motion Picture or TV Show (Help!)1966: The Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1967: The Four Tops released the single "Bernadette". (Note: some websites erroneously peg the date as February 16. "Bernadette" debuted on the Singles chart on February 18. Because of the time involved, the deadline for a radio station to report to the trade papers is on Tuesday of each week. Any song added after Tuesday will not be reported until the following week. Since February 16 fell on a Thursday in 1967, it is physically impossible for "Bernadette" to have been released, and then debut in the printed version of Billboard two days later.)1970: Black Sabbath released their first album in the U.K.

1971: Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Jackson 5, and Mungo Jerry were in concert at the Grand Theater in Gary, Indiana.1971: We first heard of this artist this week and Cat Stevens debuted on the chart with his first single--"Wild World".1971: Bobby Goldsboro and "Watching Scotty Grow" remained at #1 on the Adult chart for a sixth week. Chicago was on the way to superstardom...

1971: George Harrison remained #1 on the Album chart for a seventh week with All Things Must Pass. The Soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar" remained a strong second with the new Chicago album, Chicago III, moving from 8 to 3. Santana's breakthrough album Abraxas was fourth after 19 weeks while Elton John rose with Tumbleweed Connection. The rest of the Top 10: Pendulum from CCR, the Greatest Hits by Sly & the Family Stone, the Soundtrack to "Love Story" entered the Top 10, the album Pearl by the recently departed Janis Joplin moved from 14-9 in its third week and the self-titled Elton John was on its way down.1971: The Carpenters had a great 1970 and they picked up the new year right where they left off. Their latest, "For All We Know", moved from #87 to #39 on this date.

1971: The Osmonds accomplished the rare feat of hitting #1 with their first song--"One Bad Apple". That knocked Dawn off the top with "Knock Three Times". Lynn Anderson was going to be a force with "Rose Garden" and Dave Edmunds was up to #4 with "I Hear You Knocking".

1972: The Stylistics released the single "Betcha' By Golly Wow".1975: Jefferson Starship recorded the song "Miracles" at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California.1978: Dire Straits began recording their amazing debut album at Basing Street Studios in London. (Note: some websites claim the group began recording on February 14. While there are no credible sources for either date, through our best research in England, we believe the correct date is February 13.)

1978: The city of Los Angeles declared today "Al Green Day".1978: Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway teamed up to release the single "The Closer I Get To You".

1981: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd passed Highlights from "The Phantom of the Opera" for third place in the longest-running albums of the Rock Era with 402 weeks on the Album chart. Pink Floyd at this point was behind only Johnny Mathis with his Greatest Hits album with 490 weeks and the "My Fair Lady" Soundtrack with 480 weeks. Dark Side of the Moon would eventually run away from them all with 741 weeks.

1982: "We Got The Beat" moved from #64 to #31 for the Go-Go's.1982: Dan Fogelberg held off all challengers for a second week at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Leader Of The Band".1983: Marvin Gaye sang the national anthem at the NBA All-Star game at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

1984: Two of the greatest songs of the Rock Era were released on the same day. Phil Collins released the single "Against All Odds".

1984: Lionel Richie released the single "Hello".

1988: Michael Jackson bought a ranch in Santa Ynez, California that he named "Neverland".1988: Keith Sweat's work paid off as "I Want Her" remained at #1 for the third week on the R&B chart.

1988: There were two new songs in the Top 10: "Don't Shed A Tear" from Paul Carrack and "She's Like The Wind" by Patrick Swayze and Wendy Fraser.

1988: Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine were one of the top new talents and they took over at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with the great song "Can't Stay Away From You".1993: The Cult had the #1 album in the U.K. with Pure Cult.1993: "The Bodyguard" Soundtrack logged a 10th week at #1 on the U.S. Album chart.1993: Whitney Houston continued to set the bar high on the R&B chart with an 11th week at #1 for "I Will Always Love You".1993: Whitney Houston dominated again with a 12th week at #1 with "I Will Always Love You", one short of the all-time record at the time held by Boyz II Men with "End Of The Road".

1999: Miss Toni Fisher ("The Big Hurt") died of a heart attack at the age of 67 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Note: some sources say she died in Los Angeles, while others say she died in Hyrum, Utah. Both are wrong. According to her obituary, Toni, who lived in Hyrum, died at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.1999: Monica moved to #1 with "Angel Of Mine".2002: Jennifer Lopez grabbed the #1 spot on the Album chart with Jo To The L-o! The Remixes.

2004: In today's edition of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Loon (as in Loony Tunes), an associate of P. Diddy, was arrested with two other men in the stabbing of a security guard outsight a nightclub in Los Angeles.

2004: Led Zeppelin received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham (John's son) were on hand to receive the honor. Lead singer Robert Plant was on tour promoting his current solo album.

2005: This is what the awards shows do. They waited until Ray Charles died, then gave him eight posthumous Grammys for his final album Genius Loves Company, including Album and Record of the Year.

2005: Maroon 5 won the Grammy for Best New Artist at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

2005: U2 scored their sixth #1 song in the U.K. with "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own".2005: Keane owned the top album in the U.K. with Hopes and Fears.2007: Robbie Williams checked into a rehabilitation center to deal with an addiction to prescription drugs. 2007: Excess. Rod Stewart was paid $1 million to perform at billionaire Steve Schwarzman's 60th birthday party at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.2010: Dale Hawkins ("Susie-Q" from 1957) died of colon cancer at the age of 73 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Born This Day:

1919: "Tennessee" Ernie Ford ("Sixteen Tons") was born in Bristol, Tennessee; died October 17, 1991 of liver disease in Reston, Virginia.1920: Boudleaux Bryant, who along with his wife Felice wrote many Everly Brothers songs, including "All I Have To Do Is Dream", "Wake Up Little Susie" and "Bye Bye Love", was born in Shellman, Georgia; died June 25, 1987 of cancer in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Note: some websites report that Bryant died on June 26, but 'The New York Times' states that he died on Thursday, which in 1987 fell on June 25. Several websites report that Bryant died in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, but according to 'The New York Times', Boudleaux was a resident of Gatlinburg, but died at the Baptist Hospital in Knoxville.)

1930: Dorothy McGuire of the McGuire Sisters ("Sincerely"), not to be confused with actress Dorothy McGuire, was born in Middletown, Ohio Omaha, Nebraska; died September 13, 2001 of cardiac arrest from complications of Parkinson's disease in Paradise Valley, Arizona. (Note: websites who list Dorothy's birthplace as Omaha, Nebraska indeed have her confused with the actress of the same name. The singer Dorothy McGuire was born in Middletown, according to 'The New York Times' and the book 'Music of the Postwar Era' by Don Tyler.)

1942: Peter Tork (real name Peter Halsten Thorkelston), keyboardist and bassist of the Monkees, was born in Washington, D.C.

1943: Bill Szymczyk, producer who discovered the James Gang, produced several of the Eagles' best albums, including Hotel California and The Long Run, and also worked with the J. Geils Band and Wishbone Ash, was born in Muskegon, Michigan.1944: Rebop Kwaku Baah, percussionist of Traffic and Wings Konongo, Ghana; died of a cerebral hemorrhage January 12, 1983 during a performance in Stockholm, Sweden. (Note: many websites claim Baah was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Unfortunately, there are no credible sources for either location, but our best research shows he was born in Ghana.)1945: King Floyd ("Groove Me" from 1970, one of The Top 100 R&B Songs of the 1970's*) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; died March 6, 2006 from complications of a stroke and diabetes.

1950: Peter Gabriel of Genesis and a solo star, was born in Chobham, Surrey, England. (Note: 'Allmusic.com" claims that Gabriel was born in London, but they are wrong as usual. The correct birthplace is Chobham, Surrey, England, according to United Press International, as well as the book 'Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel' by Daryl Easlea.)

1952: Ed Gagliardi, original bassist of Foreigner, was born in New York City; died of cancer May 11, 2014.1956: Peter Hook (real name Peter Woodhead), bassist of New Order ("Blue Monday" from 1983), was born in Broughton, Salford, England. 1961: Les Warner, drummer with the Cult, was born in Fulham, London.

1966: Freedom Williams of C&C Music Factory ("Gonna' Make You Sweat" and "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...") was born in Brooklyn, New York.1972: Robert Todd Harrell, bassist of 3 Doors Down, was born in Escatawpa, Mississippi.

1974: Robbie Williams, lead singer of Take That and a solo superstar, was born in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

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About Me

I worked at KFXD-AM & FM in Boise, Idaho for 10 years, serving as Research Director, Music Director and Sports Director among other things. During this time, I researched, organized and produced several music specials including The Top 500 Songs of All-Time and The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era.
I started Inside The Rock Era in 2011 to counter the sea of misinformation about rock music in general and specifically which songs, albums and artists were the most successful. Since that time, Inside The Rock Era has received over one million page views.
I am the author of two books, The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* and The Top 100 Female Artists of the Rock Era*, both available in softcover and Kindle on Amazon and on this website.